See also: Undocumented foreigners (without correct visas)
New link added 20 Sep 2021: 仮放免の外国人に新型コロナワクチン接種へ 厚労省、オーバーステイもケース見て対応 Yahoo japan, 3 Apr 2021.
New link added 20 Sep 2021: Illegal foreigners released due to complications from pandemic "The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced immigration authorities to temporarily release from detention illegal foreigners who are scheduled for deportation, but many of the former detainees are unhappy about the situation." The article looks at the difficulties for those who have been released, including not being able to work and problems with paying for health care. Asahi Shimbun, 28 Sep 2020.
Immigration to start trying provisional release to keep virus out of detention Japan Times/News on Japan, 2 May 2021.
Foreign detainees let go temporarily amid pandemic have nowhere to go This article which tells the story of a Nepalese asylum seeker in Nagasaki describes the programme for releasing asylum seekers from detention into provisional release and reports on the very difficult conditions that asylum seekers on provisional release face. Japan Times, 25 Dec 2020.
Asylum seekers in Japan face battle for survival in time of coronavirus: The Japan Association of Refugees says we must change the fact that some people have no safety net here This article considers how the Coronavirus has affected asylum seekers in japan, particularly at the situation of those on provisional release who rely on the support of their families in their home countries or supporters in Japan, because they are not allowed to work, and argues that Japan should provide a welfare safety net for these asylum seekers. It also explains how the coronavirus has affected the work of the Japan Association for Refugees. Japan Times, 27 Jun 2020.
Japan’s immigration policy under scrutiny This article and a video that is included with it looks at criticisms of japan's very strict policy on acceptance of refugees and it use of detention and provisional release for asylum seekers and undocumented migrants. NHK World, 27 Nov 2020.
Intensifying rights abuses against foreigners held in detention put Japan on dangerous path The grave situation caused by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan's policy of keeping foreigners in Japan in long-term detention over visa violations has reached the point that a detainee at one facility was reported to have starved to death. The article also considers the system of provisional release. Mainichi, 20 Nov, 2019.
More illegal immigrants put back in detention after release in Japan More foreigners who are staying in Japan illegally have been put back in detention centers after conditionally being released from them, as Japan strengthens security ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, according to government data seen by Kyodo News. The article explains the system by which undocumented foreigners are released on provisional release and how the government has overlooked them working illegally til recently. Kyodo News, 12 Feb 2018.
Banned from working, asylum seekers are building Japan's roads and sewers This longer article looks at the situation of Kurdish asylum seekers who are on provisional release from immigration detention and who work illegally to support themselves because they are not allowed to work legally and receive no support from the Japanese government. It also looks at community of Kurdish asylum seekers in Kawaguchi and Warabi cities, at the approach of the Japanese government to applications by Kurdish asylum seekers and at the health problems these asylum seekers face. Reuters, 8 August 2016.
Subaru’s secret: Marginalized foreign workers power a Japanese export boom This article looks at the use of foreign migrant workers, who get paid much less than Japanese workers, by companies supplying the car-maker Subaru in Ota City, Gunma. Many of these foreign workers are asylum seekers on provisional release from immigration detention. The article looks at these workers from paragraph 16 onwards, explaining their working conditions, harsh treatment by employers and health problems. Reuters, 28 July 2015
Provisional Release Association in Japan See also this website. A group of former detainees, supporting both both asylum seekers and migrant worker visa over-stayers who are detained: "We are campaigning for a proper resident status in order to live a secure life in Japan. Also, what we fear the most now is re-detention. We strongly demand the Immigration Control not to violate our human rights by re-detaining us."
Tokyo court upholds deportation order for Thai teenager born and raised in Japan "A Thai teenager born and raised in Japan lost an appeal on Tuesday against a lower court ruling that upheld his deportation order, highlighting the country’s deep reluctance to accept non-Japanese people, even as its population ages and shrinks. The Tokyo High Court ruled that Utinan Won, a 16-year-old high school student living without a visa, should leave Japan. Won’s mother had already left Japan after lower court judges said her son could win residency if she returned to Thailand." Japan Times, Dec 6, 2016. See also the link below.
Japan-born son, Thai mom split by heartbreak legal deal This article looks at the case of a Thai woman who had been in japan more than 20 years, and was living on provisional release, who agreed to return to Thailand in order for her 16 year old son, who was born and grew up in japan, to stay in Japan. The article also looks at the situation of other similar families with members living on provisional release. Japan Times, Nov 24, 2016. See also the story above for later news on this case.
>>>> See also Detention and Alternatives to Detention for Asylum Seekers and Migrants >>>>
牛久の会（牛久入管収容所問題を考える会) Ushiku no Kai. It is an organization which helps detainees in Ushiku detention center, including with applications for provisional release. It also has a BLOG
Provisional Release Association in Japan A group of former detainees, supporting both both asylum seekers and migrant worker visa over-stayers who are detained: "We are campaigning for a proper resident status in order to live a secure life in Japan. Also, what we fear the most now is re-detention. We strongly demand the Immigration Control not to violate our human rights by re-detaining us."